New skipper for season opener at SC Freiburg
The Bayer 04 Women start the new season with an away game. Head coach Achim Feifel takes his team to the Möslestadion in Freiburg on Sunday, 6 September (kick-off: 14.00 CET) – with a new captain.
A final and important decision was made at the end of the pre-season. Feifel and his assistant coach Jacqueline Dünker appointed a new captain on Thursday. The choice – made in conjunction with the players – was the long-standing Leverkusener player Jessica Wich. The 30-year-old joined Leverkusen in 2014 and she enjoys “great respect in the team” according to Feifel. Summer signing Nina Brüggemann was chosen as vice-captain.
The appointment of the former Essen player is a sign of the well functioning integration of new signings at the Werkself Women to date. A total of ten new faces have been brought in via transfers. “You never know how quickly the team will knit together after such a big change like that,” Feifel explained. “But we’ve got a good feeling after the pre-season.”
Detailed work at the training camp
The 56-year-old manager is in confident mood ahead of the new campaign not least because of the one-week training camp at the Sporthotel Lindner in Westerwald. “A lot of our players have jobs, go to school or study. We had a couple of full days there where we able to do detailed work in peace and quiet,” said Feifel.
A 5-0 win in an internal friendly against the second eleven was followed by a clash with neighbours FC Köln. The game was abandoned with fifteen minutes to play due to a thunderstorm. That was the only friendly against an external opponent as the planned games against Standard Liege and PSV Eindhoven were called off due to the developments in the coronavirus pandemic. “The game against Eindhoven, in particular, would have been a good marker for us,” Feifel declared. “Now, we’ll get the first feedback from our pre-season at Freiburg.”
SC Freiburg statement on spectators
The hosts from Freiburg have published a statement on their website relating to spectators ahead of the game at the Möslestadion: “Due to the current developments and regulations, home games will be played in front of a small number of selected spectators until further notice. This group includes relatives of the players and employees of the club.”
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